Why Quinjet?
by dryskim
Summary: Before the Quinjet became the official vehicle of The Avengers, it had to go through a test-phase like all promising designs. What followed, was a question that Tony Stark wasn't quite prepared to deal with.


"I brought the Quinjet, Rhodey, now tell me you've got somebody lined up to fly it," Tony Stark asks, grinning from ear to ear as his close friend, and United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, affectionately dubbed 'Rhodey', led him across the tarmac to the prototype Quinjet which was currently being tended by a military flight crew.

"I've got somebody to fly your newest toy," Rhodey says, "It'll be fine."

"I'm...just..." Tony pauses for a moment, furrowing his brow as he tries to find the appropriate word, "I don't want this pilot of yours wrecking my prototype. The Quinjet's got a bit more thrust than what he'll be used to. I mean, seriously, it's got five engines."

"I can count, Tony," Rhodey answers, "Though I appreciate you pointing that out for me."

"I'm just happy that you aren't flying it, I mean, we all know how much of an ace pilot you are," Tony murmurs, adjusting his lapels for nothing more than the sake of doing so. He glances up to catch Rhodey's gaze, "W-what?"

"What the hell, Tony? What do you mean you know how much of an ace pilot I am?"

"I mean, I'm just- well, to be frank, we all remember what happened when I brought the XR-3 over for you to test fly..." Tony replies, slowly taking a step back as Rhodey begins to taking steps in his direction. After about four steps backwards, Tony turns on his heel, and proceeds to commence running from the Lieutenant Colonel, "Someone help, help! Please, this frightening black man is trying to accost me!"

"Lieutenant Colonel, Captain Danvers reporting as requested, sir."

Stark was in the process of smoothing out the front of his suit, while the Lieutenant Colonel's posture reverted to it's usual rigid nature. Tony gave the pilot a once over before remarking, "He's a lot more female than I imagined."

There's a moment of calm before the usual bickering resumes, "Seriously, Tony? That's how this day is going to go?" Rhodey mutters something along the lines of, "Jesus Christ," under his breath, "I'm sorry, Captain, usually he's less of a jackass than this."

The blonde shrugged, "I'm used to it, sir."

Rhodey opened his mouth to speak, but was instantly drowned out by Tony as he resumed babbling, "Yeah, I was kind of expecting Tom Cruise. Top Gun, y'know? I didn't expect someone who would...fill out a flight suit so well?"

"Let's just...let's just get this over with," Rhodey grumbles, trying to futilely salvage the professionalism of this endeavour - of course, with Tony Stark within thirty miles, this is proving to be a very much unattainable goal, "Captain Danvers, do you have any questions for Mr. Stark before we get underway?"

"Any particular reason why we've christened it the Quinjet?" the Captain asked, following the two men as they made their way towards the now fully prepped prototype, "Seems a bit...childish."

Stark, who had been the one to develop the Quinjet and thus name it such - was very much up in arms about this attacking on his naming skills. For a short moment he seemed unable to figure out what to do with his arms, leaving him to spazz out on the tarmac, "Yeah - well - why's it called a Fighting Falcon?"

"Because a falcon is a bird, and birds fly, Mr. Stark," Danvers responded easily, "And in case you've forgotten, we're a part of the military, hence the 'fighting' portion. So it's a justified name in my opinion, it accurately states what the F-16 does. Flies and fights. Quinjet, on the other hand-"

"It has five engines! It has five friggin' engines-" Tony was quietly restrained by Rhodey, the Lieutenant Colonel giving the Captain his best death glare as she clambered into the cockpit of the Quinjet. Once he was semi-certain that Tony wasn't about to have another tantrum about someone not liking how he named one of his new toys, Rhodey released his hold on the man and told him to start acting like a thirty-five year old CEO of a multi-billion dollar company in no kind words.

It was times like these that told Rhodey why he'd never settled down, because playing the role of stern parent to Anthony Stark, billionaire playboy with no sense of responsibilities, was more than enough to deal with for one man.

Though he had to admit to himself, he wasn't exactly partial to naming the U.S. Military's next-gen fighter the Quinjet. It just sounded...corny.


End file.
